Yellow Leaf Fall

The yellow leaf motifs scattered across this saree were drawn in wax on brick red Bishnupur silk by an artist from West Bengal whose batik practice is rooted in observing the natural world and finding ways to press it into fabric. The leaves run across the entire saree including the palla, so the wearer is surrounded — the way you are surrounded when you stand in a forest in October. The black cracks in the base are the wax’s own contribution, unplanned and unrepeatable.

Bishnupur silk is woven by hand on traditional looms in the Bankura district of West Bengal — each metre carrying the rhythm of the weaver’s hands in its structure. The silk takes dye deeply and holds it long, making the colours in batik work on Bishnupur silk particularly vivid and lasting. It drapes cleanly, moving with a quiet confidence that needs no announcement.